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The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of statutory police forces in the United Kingdom and some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as special constables.
Every United Kingdom territorial police force has a special constabulary except the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which has a Reserve constituted on different grounds. However, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (and the previous Royal Irish Constabulary) did have its own Ulster Special Constabulary from 1920 until 1970, when the Reserve was formed. The British Transport Police (a national "special police force") also has a special constabulary. In the Crown dependencies, the Isle of Man Constabulary and the States of Guernsey Police Service also have special constabularies, but the States of Jersey Police does not. Jersey has Honorary Police.
The strength of the special constabulary as of September 2018 in England and Wales was 11,343, -12.3% on the previous year.[1] The number of special constables in Scotland in 2018 was 610.[2] Special constables are not the same as police community support officers (PCSOs), who are employed by police forces to provide operational support to regular officers. Special constables usually work for a minimum number of hours per month (depending on the force – the national minimum is 16 hours), although many do considerably more. Special constables might receive some expenses and allowances from the police service, including a £1,100 "recognition award" in Scotland and some forces in England, but their work is in the main voluntary and unpaid.
Special constables have identical powers to their regular (full-time) colleagues and work alongside them, but most special constabularies in England and Wales have their own organisational structure and grading system, which varies from force to force. Special constabularies are headed by a chief officer. In Scotland, special constables have no separate administrative structure and grading system.
History
While the idea of a populace policing itself dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, with English common law requiring that all citizens have the legal obligation to come to the assistance of a police officer, it was not until 1673 that Charles II ruled that citizens may be temporarily sworn in as constables during times of public disorder. This ruling was in response to rising public disorder relating to enforcement of religious conformity, and any citizen refusing to acknowledge the call would have been subject to fines and jail sentences. The 1673 act was enforced for centuries after, mainly used to call up constables in the north of England.[3]
Public disorder of that nature was renewed during the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, which was coupled with falling living standards and starvation[citation needed]. In 1819, mass meetings calling for parliamentary reform took place across England, including 60,000 demonstrators rioting in Manchester where a special constable was killed. In light of these events, in 1820, an Act was passed allowing magistrates to recruit men as special constables.
In 1831, Parliament passed "An act for amending the laws relative to the appointment of Special Constables, and for the better preservation of the Police".[4] This Act, forming the basis of special-constable principles to the modern day, and in particular allowed the formation of special constables outside of times of unrest, if the regular police force was deemed to be too small in a particular area. Specials were also granted full powers of arrest like their regular counterparts at this time, as well as weapons and equipment to carry out their duty.
A further act in 1835 redefined the Special Constabulary as a volunteer organisation, and expanded its jurisdiction. The constabulary was redefined for the last time into the organisation which exists today by the Special Constables Act 1914 just after the outbreak of World War I, during which they safeguarded water supplies from German infiltrators. During the Second World War, besides their normal duties, they were trained to deal with a range of eventualities such as first aid in case of injury, initial coordination of the security of aircraft crash sites, clearing people from the vicinity of unexploded bombs, handling of unignited incendiary bombs and checking compliance with lighting regulations.[5]
Application
Requirements for being a special constable vary from force to force. The recruitment process in Scotland is also significantly different from the process in England and Wales. It can take from as few as six to as many as eighteen months from initial application through to attestation where recruits take the police oath. A number of different steps are involved in the recruitment process and the order can vary from force to force. The first part of the process usually involves completing an application form. After that, there may be a combination of entrance test (the Police Initial Recruitment Test in England and Wales or the Standard Entrance Test in Scotland), interview, security checks, fitness test and medical assessment although the exact process is force specific.
Ranks
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
There are currently a total of nine ranks currently in use across the special constabularies. Some of these ranks are rarely in use and special constabularies rarely use more than six ranks. The "NPIA" style rank insignia have a set of only seven ranks. There is no basis in law for ranks or grades for special constables. As such there is no equivalency of a regular police sergeant versus a special police sergeant for example. A special constable who is a higher rank or grade has no additional powers or opportunities in the same way as a regular officer. For example, a custody sergeant must be a regular police sergeant. A special inspector cannot authorise a section 18(1) PACE search and so on. In an operational setting, a special constable whatever their rank or grade has no formal authority over a regular officer in terms of supervision, although occasionally a very experienced senior special officer may informally temporarily oversee inexperienced regular officers.
| Special constabulary ranks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Styles | Officers | Chief officers | |||||||
| "Bar" style ranks | Special constable | Special sergeant | Special inspector | Special chief inspector | Special superintendent | Special chief superintendent | Assistant chief officer | Deputy chief officer | Chief officer |
| "NPIA" style ranks | No equivalent | ||||||||
Only the Cheshire Special Constabulary and the Durham Special Constabulary use the special chief superintendent rank within the force.
Within the City of London Special Constabulary is the Honourable Artillery Company Specials, provided by the Honourable Artillery Company;[6] members of this unit wear HAC on the shoulders in addition to other insignia.
Insignia
There is a large variation in the design of epaulettes used across Great Britain for special constables. This has been recognised at national level and as part of the Special Constabulary National Strategy 2018-2023 the structure and insignia is under review with the intention to standardise.[7]
Special constabulary epaulettes frequently bear the letters "SC" (with or without a crown above) to differentiate them from regular officers. Senior special constables wear the same markings on their hats as equivalent regular ranks.
| Special constabularies using the NPIA approved rank insignia | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constabulary | Chief officer | Deputy chief officer | Special superintendent | Special chief inspector | Special inspector | Special sergeant | Special constable | Notes |
| Durham Special Constabulary[8] | 
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| Hampshire Special Constabulary[9] | 
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| Kent Special Constabulary | 
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| Merseyside Special Constabulary[10] |
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| Northamptonshire Special Constabulary[11] | 
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| South Wales Special Constabulary[12] |
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| South Yorkshire Special Constabulary[13] | 
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| Wiltshire Special Constabulary[14] | 
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| Gloucestershire Special Constabulary[15] | 
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| City of London Special Constabulary | 
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| Notes |
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Other special constabularies use combinations of bars, half bars, pips, crowns, laurel wreaths, collar numbers, force crests and the SC identity (with or without a crown) to distinguish ranks (and/or role).
